


I Hear the Sound of My Own Voice, Asking You to Stay

by Zeered



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/F, Period-Typical Homophobia, Princess!Ava, knight/outlaw!Sara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:07:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28547625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeered/pseuds/Zeered
Summary: Ava and Sara were in a relationship before but due to the Queen, Ava's mother, Sara was banned from returning to their kingdom. Twelve years after their ways parted, Sara took a job that lead her back to her old home.
Relationships: Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Comments: 7
Kudos: 89





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys,  
> I hope you'll enjoy this one :)  
> Thanks to [Lady Xana](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/LadyXana) for betaing and also to my girlfriend for bearing my endless drabble about this fic.  
> The inspiration came from a tumblr post I failed to find again but this was the text: _For those who are a bit on the kinky side: Dishevelled, slightly bloody, with a sword under their chin, smiling lasciviously, kneeling, and their hands are tied behind their back_  
>  Also the title is from _Treacherous_ by Taylor Swift.  
> Enjoy!

The mission was supposed to be easy. Just in and out, without drawing unnecessary attention onto herself. But life always goes its own way and so the longing for a quick look at her first love brought Sara to this very moment.

The tight rope around her wrists was itching and cutting into her skin, a very uncomfortable mixture, pleasant under different circumstances but certainly not under these. Not to speak of the guard’s sword that was currently pricking into the skin of her throat or the hard underground that was cold against the ripped cloth on her bloody knees.

Despite the hopelessness of her situation, there was still a smile on Sara’s face and it was not only because she would never let her enemies see her fear but because it felt like the right decision to go back. To get at least one look at _her_.

Said woman was Ava Sharpe, princess and future queen of Arvendire. Sara studied her as she stood in front of her with all her grace and gratitude. She hadn’t changed much since she saw her for the last time twelve years ago when she left the kingdom but she looked somehow older, worn out and unhappy. Yet she still had the same strong and unyielding look in her eyes, that Sara knew was her shield to prevent other people from reading her emotions.

The silence in the room was broken when the large wooden doors opened with the familiar sound and three pairs of boots crossed the room, their steps echoing in the great hall.

“Didn’t I tell you that I would have you executed immediately as soon as you set foot on this kingdom again?” Barbara Sharpe, the Queen said in her usual threatening voice when she settled on her throne in front of Sara. God, she hated that woman.

“Did you?” Sara retorted with a smirk. “I must have forgotten.” She tilted her head just a little to feign a pensive expression. In the corner of her eye Sara saw the Queen’s expression darkening.

“Your so-called charm won’t save you this time.” The woman leaned forward, “You won’t get another chance to destroy the kingdom or it’s alliances.” There was a sudden glint in her look that made Sara’s guts churn and for a split second her smile faltered but no one seemed to notice. What Sara failed to notice though, was the brief moment in which Ava’s cold demeanor changed into worry. But as quickly as the fear had appeared, it left and left nothing but anger behind.

“You can’t change her, you know that, and that is what worries you, isn’t it? Your behaviour will end your reign sooner or later and then you will ask yourself: was it worth it? Was it necessary to make the whole kingdom, even your own daughter and husband, hate you just because you wouldn’t let two people love each other?” Sara’s sudden venomous words coaxed the Queen to set her jaw a little tighter and all eyes in the throne room were suddenly on her. No one dared to speak with the Queen like that and it wouldn’t do her situation any good but Sara figured she may die as well letting the truth out of her chest for once. For a second the Queen seemed to be at a loss of words before she regained her composure.

“Once again you have proven your foolish behaviour and you shall die with these as your last words. Captain Hunter, kill her,” the Queen said with feigned nonchalance, they both knew she was indeed very interested in getting rid of Sara once and for all.

Sara lifted her chin as high as her body allowed and glanced from the Queen over to Ava, gave her a sly smile but the latter just stared at her with eyes wide open. When Rip Hunter, captain of the royal guard and her former trainer, lifted his sword from her chin high up in the air and set to strike. She swallowed and set her jaw for one last time, thinking about Ava’s hair in her hands, the feeling of her skin pressed on hers, the soft curve of her-

“Wait!” called Ava, now all eyes darted to her, her mother fuming already.

“Ava wha-,” the Queen began to speak but was cut off.

“Prisoners who are to be executed must not be executed before the first morning light. That is our tradition, is it not?” Ava said with that unyielding gaze again.

“Yes,” said the Queen, gritting her teeth.

“Who are we if we’re forgetting our ancestors and our traditions? Isn’t that what you always preach, mother?” The princess continued and if it wasn’t for the situation she was in, Sara would be very turned on right now. She had always loved when Ava was bossy with people and Sara had to admit she would make an excellent queen one day.

“It is,” the Queen admitted and was visibly annoyed but everyone knew she was taking traditions very seriously, much to Sara’s luck. The Queen sighed. “Get her into the dungeon and as soon as you see the first morning light, bring her to the tower and get it over with. Make sure she’s alone and no one is allowed to visit.”

“Yes, your majesty,” Rip obayed like the dog he was trained to be. Right before he and another guard lifted her up roughly, Sara glanced one last time at Ava and smiled at her, even though she only postponed the inevitable.

* * *

They dragged her through the familiar corridors down to the dungeon. Ironic, had she been the one to bring people down there a long time ago. But life was filled with these little ironies, Sara had come to notice.

It was her luck though, nightfall had been hours ago and thus the castle was asleep so all the people she once called friends wouldn’t see her going down there.

As soon as they arrived in the lower levels of the old castle, they opened one of the cells for her, pushed her inside and closed the rusty steel door. Immediately the familiar musty smell invaded her nose and she suppressed the old memories it brought back up. Memories of her, Leo and Mick telling jokes or her and Jax training with the sword while keeping guard of the prisoners.

She didn’t even try to think about escaping her prison, she wouldn’t be able to make it anyway, not in her state, not without a weapon nor help. Sara knew the catacombs and she knew Queen Barbara had enough guards night and day to have this section under control.

Thinking of that, now her whole plan to get into the castle in the first place seemed like the dumbest idea she ever had and that means something. She didn’t even need the money that the old sword would have provided, maybe her mind was just looking for an excuse to come back, to see Ava again. And now here she was, beaten up, sentenced to death from the very woman that destroyed her life once.

* * *

_  
A ray of sunlight fell into the room through a thin gap in the heavy curtains, directly onto her face, coaxing her stirr awake. Drunk with sleep she exhaled a long breath and opened one eye. As Sara’s brain fully caught up on her surroundings, she leaped up immediately, this wasn’t her room. It was Ava’s. That meant she fell asleep. And that meant she was in the one area she wasn’t allowed to be in.  
Panicking, she tried to wake up Ava who was still sleeping deeply next to her. The blanket only covered half of her chest and when Sara layed eyes on the soft curve of her breasts, memories from last night catched up with her._

_It had been their first time together, Sara had just turned eighteen and was chosen to be the next new entry to the royal guard. It had been such good news because she would finally be able to be around Ava more often. But the best thing about it was, that she was finally granted permission to access the royal chambers and that meant the freedom to visit Ava all the time and not just when Rip would let her sneak in or help Ava to sneak out. But she was not there yet, so she had neither a reason nor the permission to even be in Ava’s bedchamber._

_“Aves, wake up,” Sara whispered into the other blonde’s ear. “We fell asleep, I need to get out of here.”_

_No answer._

_Sara laid her hand on Ava’s shoulder and spoke louder while she jumped into her undergarment, “Aves, c’mon, wake up.”_

_“What is it?” Ava said with a hoarse voice. “Is everything okay?” She wiped the sleep from her eyes and looked at Sara, her hair messy and disheveled._

_For a moment Sara forgot her worries and just looked at the woman in front of her. She was so beautiful and kind and wise and pure, that Sara sometimes couldn’t fathom that someone like her even wanted to be with her. Let alone a princess.  
Succumbing to the urge to kiss Ava, Sara leaned in. Their lips connected and danced a passsionately, filled with longing, love and tenderness. For a moment they lost themselves in the kiss completely, forgetting their surroundings, their senses focused on the connection between them._

_The moment was enough for a couple of footsteps to go by unnoticed and thus both women were taken by surprise when the wooden door flew open as the Queen, along with a handful guards, entered the room.  
Sara and Ava were awake immediately._

_“What is going on?” the Queen demanded to know and if looks could kill then the kingdom would certainly have lost it’s only heir today._

_“I-” Ava was at a loss of words and Sara couldn’t say anything either._

_“You are a princess, Ava Jane Sharpe, what on earth were you thinking?” Her voice was even louder than before and Sara was sure that at least two of the guards flinched._

_“I- I wasn’t-” Ava stammered._

_“Exactly, you weren’t thinking. Like always. And you,” now the Queen looked at Sara with nothing as contempt, “we took you in, I trusted you to protect my daughter and instead you seduced her and turned her into something she’s not.”_

_“That’s not what happened, mother!” Ava interrupted and earned a glare from the Queen right away._

_“Silence! I don’t want to hear any excuses that she planted in your head. This is not you. Have you forgotten your duties, your status? We’re royalty, child. However, I’ll ensure that the engagement with Prince John will be fulfilled within the next two weeks.” This was the last thing Ava wanted, Sara knew that. How often had they dreamed of running away? But Ava always felt the need to fulfill her ‘royal duty’ as her mother called it, like she owed anything to anyone in this kingdom, least of all her mother.  
Her gaze was on Sara again, “You will leave this kingdom at once and never come back or you are to be executed. Now; get. Out.”_

_Sara only hesitated for a moment and then jumped into her black pants, the light linen shirt and her boots._

_“You can’t do that!” Ava screamed while Sara tightened her belt, the despair in her voice breaking her heart. She would stay in a heartbeat, fight her way out of the castle without a word but she knew that the Queen would make her promise true without hesitation and even kill them both if necessary. So this way there was at least a faint chance that they would meet again in the future._

_“Yes, I can. And I will. Now dress, we have a journey to plan,” the Queen said coldly._

_“No! Sara, please! Come back!” Ava screamed as Sara left the room with one last look at her lover. Tears streamed down her face as she ran through the great hall, her steps a hollow echo, Ava’s screams following her on every step.  
Only when she reached the stables the screams ebbed away but she knew they would never leave her fully._

_With one last look at the place she called her home she swung herself in the saddle of her horse, riding in full gallop through the gate and into an unknown future.  
_

* * *

The creaking sound of the door that led to the cells woke Sara from her light slumber. Stifling a yawn, she sat up straight but as soon as she did so, her body reminded her of the injuries she got herself when the guards captured her while she was sneaking around in the royal chambers.

“Are you awake?” asked a familiar voice. Ava’s face glowed in the dim candle light and for a second Sara doubted that she was real.

“How did you get in here?” Sara asked, worried that Ava would make herself more of a target to her mother than she already was.

“Don’t worry about that, I have my ways,” she smiled slyly. “You taught me the worth of such.” Sara smiled at the shared memory. It was only due to Sara’s connections to the other guards that they were able to maintain their relationship over the years from when they were fourteen.

“Still, it’s too dangerous, you know her. She’ll kill us both,” Sara said and stood up even though her body begged her to lie down. But being this close to her again, it was intoxicating and satisfied a longing that no one else could fill.

“I’m fairly competent in taking care of myself, thank you,” there was the old Ava, the cocky young princess Sara fell in love with. But cockyness wasn’t the only tone in her voice, there was something new, a coldness. Not the same as her mothers’ but something that hadn't been there before.

As she thought about the origin of said coldness it hit her like a rock, she left her and Sara had known how allone Ava always felt in the castle. There weren’t many people she really could talk to besides her cousin Nora, who occasionally spent her summers at Arvendire and her cousin Zari, a count’s daughter from the neighbour earldom that spend most of the year in Longdale due to her wild romance with Charlie, a known bard in the realm.

Sara wouldn't take herself as too important but she knew from experience that losing someone changed you in a way nothing else would. “I’m sorry, Aves,” Sara whispered and they both knew she didn’t apologize for the words from before. Still Ava winced at the pet name as if it violently ripped open a long closed scar.

“I knocked out the guards, it should be safe for you to go,” Ava said a little proudly.

“You did what?” Sara asked in disbelief.

“Not with violence! I mean, you know I could but they’re innocent so I gave them something to drink that may have been poisoned,” she said and shrugged. Sara was at a loss of words. “Not lethal though, just something to send them to sleep.”

Sara relaxed visibly, the Queen would do God knows what to the guards if they would leave their positions or to Ava if she hurt one of them.

“Can you cut me free first, this rope really hurts, I almost can’t feel my hands anymore.” With skilled hands, cut Ava the rope in two pieces without cutting into Sara’s skin and while she would have rather done it herself than risk getting hurt, she still trusted Ava deeply. The remnants of their once strong bond were still there. And a thought crossed Sara’s mind while she moved her wrists around, pleased to finally feel something again, “What- What if you come with me? It would be like the dreams we once had, you would be free and we…” She dared not to end her sentence, it wasn’t even her intention of implying anything related to them. She just thought it might be a chance, for all she knew, it might be their last.

“Sara, I… My duties,” Ava said but didn’t continue, Sara already knew what she wanted to say.

“That’s always your excuse, isn’t it?”

“Excuse me?” Ava huffed, straightened her spine. 

“You didn’t want to leave with me before, I should have known it was a bad idea to come back, to even think that I still might…” She stopped herself, admitting it would be too hard, too painful.

“That you might what?” Ava said stubbornly, her arms crossed over her chest and her left eyebrow cocked up.

“That I… That I might still be in love with you," Sara said, somehow defeated.

"No," Ava whispered more to herself than to Sara, "you don't get to say that. You left me, you left me with her, you could have come back!" 

"And get us both killed?" Sara raised her arms in defense. 

"You're like a fucking Assassin, you would have figured something out," Ava bit back, her expression venomous.

"Maybe, but do you really think we could have gotten far enough to escape her grip?" Sara said harshly, but after Ava remained silent for a moment, her tone softened. "You were not the only one who was hurting, you weren't the only one who lost someone that day, Ava."

"I know," Ava said and looked somehow devastated. "What makes you think we could escape this time though?" Now there was suddenly curiosity in her eyes.

"I came to know a lot of people, the Danvers sisters are two of them. They’ll help us."

Ava looked pensive, as if she was really considering it. And while Ava thought about the offer, Sara looked through the small arrow slit. Dawn was breaking. 

"If you want to go, we have to go now," Sara said while she fastened her belt that Ava had given to her. Lifting herself up, she winced as a flash of pain struck through her left side.  
“Shit,” she muttered.

“Everything okay?” Ava asked while helping Sara up.

“Nothing, possibly just a broken rib.” She coated her gritted teeth with nonchalance but it didn’t seem to work on Ava. She just gave her a look.

“You know you can’t hide your pain from me. You never could,” Ava said, the last sentence quieter than the first one.

Silence hung between them for some time.

Until Ava broke it, “I will come with you.” Sara couldn't believe it.

“Really?” Hope lay in her voice.

“Yes,” Ava said and suddenly there was a smile on her face.

"Then let's waste no time," Sara said, suddenly feeling warm and fuzzy. 

“There’s one thing I need to do first, I can’t leave without it.” Ava emphasized the last part of her sentence and Sara would not deny it, even though it would make it harder to get out. But it didn’t matter to her, what mattered to her was Ava.

“Lead the way then,” she said and smiled, following her as they left the cell behind them.

* * *

It didn’t take Sara long to guess where Ava was going, she chose almost the direct way to her mother’s chambers but due to their excellent knowledge of the castle, they were able to avoid most of the guards.

But now, they were just around the corner to the wing that contained the royal chambers.

“I guess you already know what I want,” Ava whispered and Sara nodded.

“Should I cause a diversion?” Sara asked, smirking. When they used to sneak into each other’s bedrooms, Sara had been exceptionally good at sneaking around and causing diversions. That led to Ava calling her her little ninja and although Sara refused to be called that, she must admit that she missed it once she had left.

“Are you sure your body is in the right state for it?” Ava asked, half challenging and half concerned.

“You underestimate my capability of ignoring my body’s signs,” Sara retorted.

“No, I just thought after twelve years, you might have become more responsible but it doesn’t seem to be that way,” Ava snickered to herself, coaxing Sara to smile warmly. God, she had missed Ava’s laughter. For a moment the world seemed to stop spinning and Sara just looked in awe at the other woman next to her.

But soon Ava snapped her out of it, “It’s not gonna take long.” Sara nodded and unsheathed her sword, walked over to the corner and blatantly around it, whistling a melody and swinging her sword in the air.

“It’s the prisoner,” said one of the guards. “Get her!”

The two guards in front of the door immediately drew their swords and launched towards Sara. She just smiled and waited for them to come. Because of her injuries she couldn’t move much, but she knew her skills and she could still push her limits a bit.

When the first soldier attempted to vertically strike at her head, Sara parried easily. She could tell he didn’t have as much experience as he should have. Maybe the Queen ran out of good guard material. The parry seemed to surprise the young man, giving Sara the opportunity to counter.  
It only took one swift motion to free her blade through a push and another to swing the blade over her head and to the other side, striking at the neck of her opponent. Unceremoniously but with a loud cry, he fell to the ground and in the corner of her eye she saw Ava walking over to the door, entering the chambers without further notice.

“You’ll pay for that,” said the other guard, an older woman, through gritted teeth.

“Try me,” Sara replied, smiling devilishly.

They circled around each other for a few moments, their gazes fixed on each other. She was sure the other woman studied her movements, learned her tells as did Sara with her. She was left-handed and always swung her sword before she changed her foot.  
Sara’s goal was to buy Ava time and this was a perfect situation for it.

* * *

When Ava entered the chambers of her mother, she interrupted the other woman on her desk, writing a letter, Ava assumed. She didn’t even look up. Ava huffed, was she not worth the attention of her mother at all?

“What is it?” her mother asked.

“I wanted to say goodbye,” Ava simply said.

“What?” her mother asked in confusion.

“I said, I want to say goodbye.”

“Stop the nonsense. You’re not going anywhere,” now her mother looked up but there was no love in her eyes. There never was since her father was killed in the war. She had lost both parents that day.

“Yes I will go away, mother. I’m tired of you, I’m tired of being the princess, I’m tired of being told what is best for me. I don’t want this life,” Ava said and felt her emotions taking control over her, making her strong.

“I always wanted what’s best for you!” Ava could see the anger rising in her mother’s face but she couldn’t care less.

“Oh really?” Ava laughed dryly. “You decided for me that I should marry a man that I don’t even know? You threatened the only person I loved to kill her for me? You took every chance of happiness away from me.” She didn’t scream, her voice was low, almost threateningly icy and she even gave herself chills.

“You don’t love her, Ava. She was just a regular girl, not worth your time.”

“I never wanted a prince, I never even wanted a man. I just wanted her and I was so angry at her when she left but all the time it was you. It was you who sent her away, it was you who destroyed our relationship and who made me doubt myself over the past twelve years.” Tears were streaming down her face, by now but her mind had never seen so clearly. “And for all you’ve done, you don’t deserve me as your daughter.”

“You owe me everything. I brought you into this world. I’m your mother, and now you want to go away from me because I don’t tollerate you throwing your life away for a stupid girl that will leave you again at the next chance she gets? You have so much potential, Ava. Why can’t you just marry a man?” There it was, the unspoken finally out in the open. Ava couldn’t believe it. With the new resolution, she knew what she had to do. She was done with her mother, once and for all.

“So that is what is bothering you? That I prefer women over men? Then you are even worse than I imagined.” With that as her last words, Ava left the room and never looked back. The last thing she heard was her mother calling for the guards, but Ava knew with Sara as their opponents they wouldn’t come. She was finally free.

* * *

The woman blocked Sara’s attack but she could see her chest going up and down heavily, she became tired. Sara smirked and threw another strike at her, this time upwards and diagonal, forcing her opponent to dodge rather than block.

It was closer than the ones before but now she was the one to use the energy to start a counter attack, she swung her sword and struck a horizontal line, aimed at Sara’s throat. In the middle of her attack the woman changed from her left foot to the right and settled most of her weight on it.  
Sara predicted the move and dodged the attack by dropping to the ground, even though her body begged her not to. She used the momentum and kinetic energy of her body to spin one leg around, holding herself steady on the other leg and her hand.

The move was a success as her enemy was hit completely off guard and lost her balance, with an easy push of her hand, Sara threw the woman over. Without another thought she let her sword sink into the other woman’s chest and killed her.

She only waited a couple of moments for Ava to come back after she was done with the guards.

“How’d it go?” Sara asked while she handed her the sword of one of the guards as they went for the stables.

“I’m even surer now that leaving is the right decision. Thanks for offering me to come with you,” Ava had stopped and looked at Sara, her expression was thankful but she also looked _lighter,_ somehow.

“Of course,” Sara said and they continued their march.

Again, they could avoid other guards by using the ways for the servants that weren’t used by the guards and empty by night. The only problem would be the entrance by the stables as her mother kept it guarded, almost as heavily as her own chamber.

“How long is it from here to your friends?”

“Should be a three days ride, without any interference,” they might needed to stop on the way to get some supplies but Sara already knew where they could do that without getting themselves into danger.

“How do you know the Danvers sisters, anyway?” Ava asked curiously as she peaked around the corner to look for any guards.

“I may have slept with Alex, the older one, once,” Sara said and watched Ava’s expression.

“You what?” Her expression changed from curious to shocked and Sara could swear she saw a flash of pain before the shock settled in.

“It only was a one time thing, don’t worry, we’re fine,” she reassured Ava.

“If you say so,” Ava said and chuckled dryly. “There, the door to the stables.” She pointed with her finger to a wooden door that was guarded by heavy armoured man, armed with a halberd.

“You take the left side?” Sara asked.

“Sure. Three, two, one, go.” As she launched forward, Sara followed her closely. They both used their moment of surprise to attack him from both sides but there weren’t many weak spots in his armour.  
He barely dodged Ava’s attack but blocked Sara’s with ease, he swung his halberd into Sara’s direction, coaxing her to jump out of the halberd’s range. Now he attacked Ava, trying to stab her, he made a step forward and brought her dangerously close to the walls, encircling her in a corner.

Sara tried to get him from behind, but he was quick enough to see what she attempted and spun his weapon around two times. Sara attempted to block one of his attacks but she wasn’t able to get her hand in the right position and thus the weapon was knocked out of her hand. With no chance to block his attack, Sara had to dodge and jumped out of the halberd’s range again, into the direction where her sword landed.

This was enough for him to launch a row of attacks on Ava, she was able to dodge most of them but she felt her body getting tired. It took Sara a moment to get her sword but when she had it, she directly launched at the man. Sara could see how Ava’s movements became slower by the second and she didn’t want her to get hurt.

Ava dodged another attack but what both women hadn’t seen coming was the guard’s spinning attack that he launched at Sara, when she was just in his range. Completely taken off guard by his maneuver, it was too late for her to even try to dodge as the opponent swung the blade directly into her calf. Crying out, she fell to her knees. He saw the opportunity and used it immediately to his advantage. Taking the handle of his halberd with an iron spike at the end, he thrusted it into Sara’s chest. She screamed again. Ava wanted to use the shift of his attention to Sara but in that very moment she turned around as he swung his blade upwards, grazing her shoulder.

Ava hissed in pain and was shocked for a moment. But he didn’t wait for a second and used the momentum of his previous attack to attack Sara again, but with the last bit of her strength, Sara was able to block his attempt to cut off her head.  
She was able to make him stumble just a bit so that she could try to get up again. But as soon as she did so, her vision became blurry and Sara felt the strength leaving her body. She made a step towards Ava, stumbled and gasped her name, then everything around her was black.

* * *

Ava had just countered the guards’ next attack when she heard Sara screaming and immediately turned around. Wanting to help her, Ava made a step but was caught off-guard by another attack of the guard. She was able to block it but not fully, and now she had a small yet bleeding cut on her arm.

Looking at Sara again, she saw how she tried standing up again, but the other guard was attacking her while she was still on the ground. Ava wanted to help her so badly and it hurt her to see her so vulnerable but she couldn’t as the man threw another attack at her. He was driving her backwards and soon she would hit the wall with no room to dodge his attacks any longer.  
She blocked his next attack and used the kinetic energy to strike the weapon back into his direction. Using this moment, she swivelled around to take the advantage of a narrowing space from him. It was just in time to see Sara stumbling and falling to the ground. Ava saw the life fleeing from Sara’s limbs and blood soaking through her clothes. Resisting the urge to get to her on the spot, she set her jaw, tightly and focused. She could kill him. She _would_ kill him. She would get them out of here.

The armor of the man clanked as they circled around each other, she tried to calm herself down, remembering how Sara taught her to fight.

_  
“You need to breathe.” Sara said and watched Ava’s chest closely. “No, not like this. Use your full lungs.” She said and laid her hand on the flat of Ava’s stomach, making the girl blush. “Controlled and steady breathing is the first step to gain the upper hand in any fight.”  
_

Ava inhaled a deep breath, steadying herself. The guard attacked and Ava dodged his horizontal strike, he grunted and seemed to get angrier than before, as did Ava. She rotated her sword, felt the weight of the blade in her hand and as the man launched forward to stab her, she made a sidestep and blocked the wooden handle of the halberd with ease.  
Her opponent let out another grunt and his next attack followed the previous without time for Ava to attack. This time he made a diagonal upward strike from the left to the right, and when Ava dodged once again by making a diagonal side step, he let his weapon swivel around so it described a horizontal line. Taken by surprise, Ava had no other choice than to directly block his strike. So she put as much strength as she had into her blocking. Again, to her surprise, she countered his strike strongly enough to break the halberd’s handle into pieces.

Now the guard was disarmed and perplexed for a second, this was Ava’s chance. She launched forward and stabbed him into the side of his knee, took his arm and stabbed into his armpit. Within a final kick into his chest, he lay on the ground and blood soaked from his body into the stone ground.

As quickly as she could she ran over to Sara and took her into her arms, with her right hand, she cupped her cheek, “Sara. C’mon, we need to get out of here. Come one, wake up.”

A groan escaped Sara’s lips as her head fell backwards. From the distance Ava could hear the clanking sound of armoured guards coming down the hallway. With her last strength reserves, Ava picked her up. Her body hung limp in her arms and looked smaller than she remembered.

She hurried down the small hallways as quickly as she could with Sara in her arms. She kicked the small door open that led into the stables and lay Sara over the back of the horse in the first box. She threw the snaffle over the horse's head, guided it outside and threw herself on its back. With a gust of wind, they were out of the stables. Behind her she could hear a woman calling but she was too far away to understand what she was saying.

Now they just needed to get out of the outer gate. After a short gallop the high stone wall that marked the outer rim of the castle appeared in front of her. She chose the path to one of the smaller ones that served as entrance for the servants and suppliers.

Hopefully she could convince them to let her pass without any further questions. But seeing as she had a bleeding lifeless body lying in front of her on an unsettled horse, this was hardly a possibility.

She slowed down the horse as she arrived by the gate. There wasn’t anyone in sight yet but as she came closer, a familiar person was waiting inside the door frame of the barrack for the guards that were on shift. It was Rip.

Ava set her jaw as her horse came to a hold in front of the closed iron gate.”You won’t take me back there,” Ava said coldly as the captain of the Queen’s Guard stepped closer.

“That’s not why I’m here,” he said, no clue on his face about what he meant.

“Then why are you here?” Ava had no time for games of any kind. Her mother had certainly sent out her guards to drag her back to the castle. And if Rip wasn’t here to get her back then there was only one other plausible thing for him to be up to. “If you are going to kill me, I won’t make it easy for you.”

“Again, that’s not why I’m here.”

“Then why the fuck are you here!” Ava’s capacity for any further games or nonsense were exhausted to the ground.

“I brought you this,” Rip said and pointed over to the backpack beside him. “I thought you would need some warm blankets, a bow and a few rations, and judging from Sara’s state you’re lucky I put some herbs and bandages in there too.” He picked the bag up and tossed it to her. Ava caught it but was still puzzled by the man’s change of mind.

“Why’re you doing this?” She narrowed her eyes, this could still be a trick or something.

“I owe her,” he pointed to Sara, “Ask her about Gideon if you want to know the story. Now, take the route into the forest, you can hide there and outrun them. I’ll hold them off.”

“Thank you,” was the last thing Ava said and as soon as Rip opened the gate, she coaxed the horse into a hard gallop to the direction of the great forest, leaving everything behind her.

* * *

Slowly, Sara stirred awake, the light in the trees too bright for her unadjusted eyes. Rolling over to the side, she spotted Ava’s familiar silhouette walking through the trees, gathering dry wood in her arms. As she attempted to push herself up from the ground, a piercing pain shot through her chest. With gritted teeth she was able to get herself in a sitting position. Only now she noticed the bloodstain on her white linen shirt and the tight bandage covering her upper chest.  
She inspected the wound and to her relief the bandage was dry, no blood soaking through. That was a good sign, yet it would slow down their journey. A moment later, Ava noticed Sara and walked over to her. Somehow she looked different, a few years younger and relaxed somehow. It was either the fresh air or the fact that she had escaped her tyrannic mother. Or maybe both.

“Hey,” Sara said, her voice groggy.

“Hey, I was just about to start a fire and hunt us something down,” Ava answered and smiled at her. “It feels good to be outside again. I missed it.”

“Wait until you have slept on nothing but leaves and soil for a few weeks, then you will gladly go back to your royal chambers,” Sara joked and snickered.

“I don’t think I could ever miss that place,” Ava’s voice was serious and Sara could slap herself. The wound was too fresh to make jokes about it.

“I’m sorry Aves,” the nickname fell easy from her lips,” I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She lay a hand on her arm and looked into her eyes. “Really.”

“I know, it’s just that I never would have thought that I could actually escape that living hell.” She exhaled and averted her eyes.

“Were you still supposed to marry that brat Constantine?” Sara asked.

“Yes. After the, as my mother liked to call it, _incident_ happened, she immediately sent a delegation to announce our arrival a few weeks later. But apparently they began a war by the time with a powerful wizard thus my mom wanted to wait until the war ended. And it’s still going.”

“Oh boy, your luck though. Well, our luck,” she said and intertwined their hands, looking into Ava’s eyes sheepishly.

“Yes,” Ava breathed, and for a moment a comfortable silence hung between them, staring just into each other’s eyes and enjoying the freedom of the moment for some time.

Eventually it was Ava who broke the silence, “How are you feeling by the way?”

“Good, but the injuries are going to last a bit, so that will slow us down,” Sara answered as she inspected the injured calf. The cut was thin though it stung, but she would be able to walk properly in a few days. At least it didn’t seem to have cut through any important tendons or muscles.

“Alright, I guess I’ll go hunting on my own then,” Ava said and gathered the bow Rip had given to them.

“Where did you get that stuff from?” Sara asked, her brow in a furrow.

“Rip gave the backpack to me.”

“What?”

“You heard right, the old man finally stood his ground. Even though my mother will probably never notice,” Ava said, grinning at the thought of her mother fuming when she heard that Rip helped them.

“He’ll manage,” Sara sighed.

For a moment both women fell silent until Sara remembered that she still felt like she had to apologize for something. “Aves,” the pet name escaped her lips once more before she even realized it, making both women blush a little, “I wanted to apologize. For leaving all those years ago.” Sara felt her throat getting tight, her eyes suddenly burned from the pent up feelings finally rising to the surface. “I should have done something and not just leave. I-”

Ava cut her off, “Sara, stop right there,” she said softly. “It’s not your fault.” Taking Sara’s hands in hers, Ava looked into Sara’s eyes. “Nothing about it was your fault. For God’s sake, it’s all my mother’s fault. That dragon of a woman is homophobic and we’re all better off without her.”

“Fuck, Ava, you didn’t kill her, did you?” Sara asked, suddenly cry-laughing.

“No, I didn’t,” Ava snickered. “But I’m making a point here, so would you please listen,” Ava said and kissed Sara’s knuckles.

“Alright,” the latter said, smiling.

“We both know she would have killed you gladly and I never would’ve been able to forgive myself. And you know, fate brought us together as you can see.”

“Or maybe it was my stupid gay ass, not being able to stay away from you,” Sara argued, making Ava laugh.

“How was I even able to survive without your stupid jokes?” Ava snickered and pushed Sara playfully, causing her to fall backwards, pulling Ava with her so she landed on top of Sara. Both blushed but were soon mesmerized by each other, suddenly Ava tucked a stray strand of hair behind Sara’s ear. The latter cupped Ava’s cheek with her hand and lifted herself up, coming closer to Ava, her eyes drawn to her lips.

Sara could feel Ava exhale, her breath hot on her face. And then, the taller bonde crossed the distance as Sara couldn’t because of her injury, their lips connected in what felt like fireworks. It was as if something fell into place again. As if the world finally made sense again.

The dance of their lips went on for a few moments until they finally parted, their foreheads meeting each other as both let out a breath.

“I love you,” Sara said.

“I love you too,” Ava answered.


	2. Flashback Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the flashback scene I wrote but cut out. I hope you guys like it :)  
> Also thanks to [Lady Xana](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/LadyXana) for betaing again (only if it's not for the whole piece).

“You need to breathe.” Sara said and watched Ava’s chest closely. “No, not like this. Use your full lungs.” She said and laid her hand on the flat of Ava’s stomach, making the girl blush. “Controlled and steady breathing is the first step to gain the upper hand in any fight.” With Sara’s hand on her stomach it was suddenly hard to breathe yet she tried her best not to disappoint her teacher. Ava could consider herself lucky to learn how to fight, even more so with her teacher. “Good, exactly like this,” Sara whispered and suddenly Ava was aware of how close she was to the prospecting guard. A moment passed by and neither of them moved, Sara’s hand still on Ava’s stomach. Their eyes locked onto each other when the world stopped spinning and both girls leaned in, Ava’s stomach was almost hurting from all the butterflies inside her.

Just before their lips touched, Gary, the Queen’s errand boy, interrupted them as he cheerfully said, “Your majesty, the Queen requests your presence in the Great Hall.” Obviously he was unaware of what he had just interrupted and he didn’t do it on purpose but still, Ava could kill him right now. She had wanted to kiss Sara for weeks now, since that stupid flutter in her stomach appeared every time when she was just mentioned in a conversation and then she had that one dream about her...  
Even though she knew that Sara would never be a choice her mother would agree to, Ava still had the feeling that she wasn’t the only one with feelings.

Both girls were blushing hard as they separated and stammered as they gathered the blunt training swords. Sara curtsied terribly as always and like always Ava stifled a laugh when the blonde girl with those mesmerizing ocean blue eyes smiled apologetically at her.  
Sara had been in the palace from a very young age on but no one seemed to be able to teach her how to bow properly. Ava found it very adorable though but she knew her mother wouldn’t be so forgiving once Sara was a full member of the guard.

* * *

The next day meant the next training day with Sara, and so Ava waited eagerly for the end of her history lesson. Normally it was one of her favourite subjects, but today she couldn’t wait to see Sara again, her stomach would flutter every time she just thought about the girl. And maybe today would be the day that she finally was brave enough to kiss her.

The minutes went by like hours but finally the lesson was over. Ava practically ran out of the study and into her chambers, changed into her pants and hurried down to the training grounds where Sara was already waiting for her.

Swinging her sword and leaning against the porch, she whistled a tune and beamed up as soon as she saw Ava, her signature smirk on her lips. Like yesterday, her courtesy was terrible and like yesterday, Ava snickered.  
“Glad you could make it, Princess,” Sara said with the slight cockiness she always had in her voice. That’s one of the things Ava liked about her, she didn’t make a difference between royalty and normal people, it was nonsense anyway.

“It’s always worth investing in your own safety, is it not?” she remarked with a grin.

“Well let’s waste no time then,” Sara said. “We’re starting with a few worm-ups to get you in shape.”

“Excuse me? I’m perfectly in shape.” Ava mock-gasped.

“I don’t doubt that, Princess, but I’m certain you lack the required muscles to hold a sword for longer than five minutes or keep the stand up for just as long.” Her tone was challenging, supported through the cocked-up eyebrow, but Ava was sure Sara was right and she wouldn’t bet on something based on childish pride.

So she replied equally challengingly, “Well, let’s begin then, for one day I may be better than you.” With a wink she crossed the porch and felt Sara’s eyes on her as she walked by the girl.

After a ten minute hell-run and another ten minutes of torturing warm-up exercises, Ava was out of breath but she wasn’t the only one. She smirked at the other girl, “I thought you did this every day and yet you are out of breath.”

“It is supposed to make you feel like you’re dying on the spot, that means your muscles are warm enough to work with.” There was that smirk again. Ava hated it because it always made her legs quiver, yet she wouldn’t want Sara without it.

“Alright, Master,” she mocked, “what shall I learn today?”

“Today, my young apprentice, you are going to learn the second most important thing about fighting.” Sara played along and went up and down in front of Ava with her index finger up in the air.

“And that is?” Ava asked over curiously.

“The art of the footwork and stance,” Sara said and turned around, putting her arms up in the air to make her words more dramatic.

“Wow, I had expected something more interesting to be honest.”

“Your stance is everything, how will you fight an enemy when you don’t know how to position yourself properly or how you even have to move? It is your connection to the ground, the thing that keeps you steady and also if you recognize the weaknesses of other people’s footwork you’ll defeat them easily.” While she made her speech, Sara moved around, mimicking someone dodging and moving with ease and a certain grace, that didn’t fit the term majestic but was still something similar to it.

“If you put it like that… Then we shall begin,” Ava said.

“As you wish, my lady,” Sara whistled, bowed and simultaneously extended her hand towards Ava and kissed it. A blush rose on Ava’s cheeks and she looked down at her feet sheepishly when Sara smirked at her.  
“We’ll start with hand to hand combat footwork. First, place your feet under your shoulders, like this,” Sara placed herself beside her so Ava could watch what she was doing. “Now, take your right foot in front of you and bend your knee forward. It shouldn’t go over your feet though, keep that in mind.”

“Okay.”

“Now, take a step back with your left foot, make sure they are still parallel to each other. It may feel strange at first but you quickly get used to it.”

“I’ll surely get sore muscles the next morning,” Ava muttered under her breath.

“Okay, now every time when you do a jab, you move your hip forward, let me show you." Suddenly Sara stood next to her, asking “May I?” Ava nodded and gulped simultaneously as she was suddenly overly aware of Sara’s proximity. When Sara touched Ava’s hips goosebumps spread over her body.  
“You move your hips like this,” Sara said and moved her right side forward while pulling the other one backwards. Ava couldn’t concentrate at all on what Sara tried to teach her, she could only feel Sara’s hands burning on her sited.

A moment had gone by and neither of them said anything and Sara’s hands were still on her hips. Ava let out a shaky breath as she felt Sara coming closer, her breath hot on her skin. Seconds went by like hours and each inch they came closer together seemed painfully slow, yet the feeling when Sara’s lips were just an inch apart was worth it all.

As their lips connected, Ava’s breath was taken away but she didn’t need it anyway. Sara’s lips were soft against hers, moving in sync with each other as if they had it done a thousand times before.

Breathless, both women parted, still as close as possible to each other, Sara’s hands still on her hips. Sara’s eyelids fluttered open, looking into Ava’s eyes. Sheepishly, Ava looked back, smiling at her speechless teacher. Only a second later they shared another long and tender kiss. Once they parted again, both girls looked into each other's eyes, smiling at each other while enjoying the moment. Neither of them had to say anything, their feelings unambiguously clear to each other.

“You know, I’ve waited a long time to do this,” Sara whispered, smiling in a way Ava hadn’t seen before.

“Well, you weren’t the only one,” Ava replied, grinning at her. Ava couldn’t believe she was finally brave enough to make a step forward int heir relationship.

She just hoped that her mother wouldn’t find out about them as she was already betrothed but maybe Ava could try to reason with her once she is old enough. Eventually, she had to stand up for herself but hopefully that day wouldn’t come for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the piece; let me know what you think :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the fic, let me know what you think! There's also a flashback scenen that I cut out eventually because it seemed too long. I decided that I will post it in the future, once its finished.  
> Have a nice day!


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